Originally published by The Washington Post
“Conditioning certification on criminal law enforcement referral and approval has a chilling effect on fearful workers who are already reluctant to come forward and speak publicly about crimes occurring in their workplaces,” the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, says.
“Previously, WHD required referral of the underlying crime, but provided discretion to determine when to do so, and required consideration of the petitioners’ safety,” according to the lawsuit.
The suit says the changes were illegally adopted without proper public notice and comment. It said the labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division also “failed to provide a rational reason for the policy change.” It asks a federal judge to declare the new policy was adopted in violation of the federal Administrative Procedures Act and to vacate it.
Federal lawyers had not filed a response as of Tuesday afternoon. The Wage and Hour Division did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
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